Public Campaign Action Fund's David Donnelly will be on the Deborah Duncan show on KTRH in Houston, Texas at 3:15 EST (2:15 CST) to 3:22 EST (2:22 CST). If you live in Houston please call in and ask David questions on the ads and the DeLay/Abramoff scandal!

Three cheers for the Washington Post's Ruth Marcus, who definitely understands what's going on. In "Derail These Fundraisers," she puts her finger precisely on what is so corrupt about Washington's pay-to-play culture, and why real reform is needed, and could make a big difference.

Nancy just wrote up the decision by the (all-Republican) court of appeals in Texas to reject's DeLay request for a speedy trial below.

This begs the question, as a colleague just suggested to me: Did the Court tell DeLay on Friday of its decision, thereby pushing DeLay to issue his statement on Saturday that he wouldn't seek to return to his leadership position?

The [Texas] highest criminal court on Monday denied Rep. Tom DeLay's request that the money laundering charges against him be dismissed or be sent back to a lower court for an immediate trial...

DeLay and his attorneys had been trying to rush to trial in Texas in hopes of clearing his name and allowing him to regain the position. That changed Saturday, though, when DeLay announced he would not attempt to reclaim the job.

DELAY: And because of that rule, the Democrats used this runaway District Attorney here in Austin, Texas to abuse that rule. Eight grand juries indicted me, and the only reason to indict me is to get me to step aside.

The conservative National Review's website posted an editorial from its editors this afternoon arguing that DeLay ought not seek a return to the Majority Leader posting he was forced to give up and that "Republicans underestimate the potential impact of the Abramoff scandal at their peril."